What do WWII battles, ballistic missiles, and the deadly brown tree snake have in common?
Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie was born in the English resort town of Torquay, Devon, on September 15, 1890.
Agatha was the youngest of three children born to Frederick and Clarissa Margaret. She's pictured aged four in this portrait painting by American artist Douglas John Connah (1871–1941).
She also excelled at writing, arithmetic, and music, learning to play the piano and the mandolin. At age 18, Christie wrote her first short story, 'The House of Beauty.' Meanwhile, the family traveled widely, visiting places like France and Egypt. Her first novel, 'Snow Upon the Desert,' was set in Cairo, but the manuscript was rejected by all the publishers she contacted.
Agatha was educated at home by her mother. By the time she was four, the youngster was reading, her love of books fueled by an insatiable curiosity.
In October 1912, the fledgling author met Archibald Christie, an officer of the Royal Flying Corps. They married in 1914 while Archie was on leave from France. Agatha herself worked as a nurse during the First World War. The union would last 14 years until their divorce in 1928, with Archibald accused of adultery by his wife.
After convalescing in Spain, Agatha Christie traveled to Iraq, where she met archaeologist Max Mallowan. The pair married in Edinburgh in 1930. Mallowan and his work would prove a huge influence on Christie's writing.
The grave of novelist Agatha Christie at St Mary's Church, Cholsey. Her husband, Max Mallowan, is buried with her.
In 1920, Agatha Christie's first novel, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles,' was published, though it was written in 1916. It introduced Hercule Poirot, one of literature's greatest fictional detectives.
Christie's inspiration for the character came from Belgian refugees living in Torquay. Styles, meanwhile, was the name of the house she and her husband lived in. The property is pictured here for sale, after the couple had announced their divorce.
In 1922, the crime writer introduced two other fictional detectives, Tommy and Tuppence, in her second novel, 'The Secret Adversary.' By her third novel, 'Murder on the Links,' again featuring Poirot and published in 1926, Agatha Christie had cemented her reputation as a crime writer of note.
In December 1926, with divorce from Archie pending and in the wake of her mother Clarissa's death, Agatha Christie went missing.
Finally, after 10 days, the missing author was traced to a hotel in Yorkshire, 296 km (184 mi) north from her home in Sunningdale. To this day opinion remains divided over the reasons for her disappearance. Some doctors at the time blamed a genuine loss of memory for her flight; others believed it was a publicity stunt to shame her husband, while a few suggested Christie had suffered a nervous breakdown. Fortunately, she would recover from her ordeal.
On December 4, 1926, Agatha Christie's abandoned car was found parked in Surrey with an expired driving license and clothes inside. Police began a nationwide search for the author. The disappearance was headline news in Great Britain, and even made the front page of The New York Times. More than a thousand police officers and 15,000 volunteers were involved in the search operation.
Christie settled into married life, giving birth to her only child, Rosalind Margaret Clarissa (later Hicks), in 1919.
Christie became the first female playwright to have three plays running simultaneously in London: 'The Mousetrap,' 'Witness for the Prosecution,' and 'Spider's Web.' 'The Mousetrap,' adapted from her short radio play, premiered in Nottingham for a pre-West End tour before beginning its London run at the Ambassadors Theatre (pictured) on November 22, 1952. It is the longest-running West End show, and is by far the longest run of any play in the world. It celebrated its 70th year in 2022.
Agatha Christie and Max Mallowan made their permanent home at Greenway House, in Devonshire. The property was the inspiration behind several of her books set predominantly within private homes, novels that include 'The A:B:C Murders' (1936), 'Five Little Pigs' (1942), and 'Dead Man's Folly' (1956). An episode of the British television series 'Agatha Christie's Poirot' (1989–2013) was filmed here, in 2013. Christie and Mallowan are pictured on the grounds in 1946.
In the short story collection published in 1932 as 'The Thirteen Problems,' Christie introduced another fictional detective, Miss Marple. Characterized as an elderly but shrewd spinster, Miss Marple remains one of Christie's best-known sleuths.
In 1939, Agatha Christie published 'And Then There Were None.' According to Guinness World Records, this book is the world's best-selling mystery, and with over 100 million copies sold is one of the best-selling books of all time.
It was also in 1926 that Christie released 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,' a publishing sensation with Poirot again on the case and which was later marked as a genre classic and one of the author's all-time favorites. In fact, it would later be voted by the British Crime Writers' Association as the best crime novel ever. But the next chapter in Christie's life would prove as compelling and mysterious as any of her fiction.
'Murder on the Orient Express' follows Hercule Poirot and his investigation into a murder that takes place on the Orient Express train. Christie drew on her experience of international rail travel while writing the book, some of which was supposedly drafted in the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul. The hotel maintains Christie's room as a memorial to the author.
Away from the typewriter, Christie accompanied her husband on digs in the Middle East. These archaeological forays to the Levant provided her with inspiration for another one of her best-known novels. She's pictured with an assistant photographing an Assyrian ivory figure unearthed at Nimrud in Iraq.
'Death on the Nile' was published in 1937. Set in Egypt with Poirot this time attempting to uncover a killer on a Nile River steamboat, the book was inspired by Christie's stay at the Old Cataract Hotel at Aswan, pictured here in 1885 and still in operation today.
Dame Agatha Christie died on January 12, 1976, aged 85. Her funeral took place at St Mary's Church, Cholsey, in Oxfordshire. Her coffin is followed by her husband Max Mallowan (who died in 1978), her daughter Rosalind Hicks (who passed away in 2004), and grandson Matthew Prichard, who is carrying flowers.
Agatha Christie's final novel was 'Postern of Fate,' published in 1973. Her autobiography, 'Agatha Christie: An Autobiography,' was published posthumously in 1977. In it the events of 1926 are thinly described, the author noting: "The next year of my life is one I hate recalling" and concluding, "So, after illness, came sorrow, despair, and heartbreak. There is no need to dwell on it."
Christie was made a Dame in 1971 to join an esteemed club that at the time included the English actresses Dame Sybil Thorndike, Dame Edith Evans, and Dame Peggy Ashcroft, all of whom are pictured here with Christie celebrating Thorndike's 90th birthday.
Agatha Christie is the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her detective novels and short stories having sold an astonishing two billion copies-plus worldwide since her first book, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles'—which introduced the world to the fictional detective Hercule Poirot—was published in 1920. Dubbed the "Queen of Crime," Christie also wrote for the theater, with 'The Mousetrap' still distinguished with the longest run of any play in the world. Born in 1890, Christie's extraordinary allure has stood the test of time. So, what is the endearing appeal of Agatha Christie?
Click, read, and turn the pages for an appreciation of the life and work of the world's greatest crime writer.
During the Second World War, the novelist worked at University College Hospital in London. Forever researching the mind of a murderer, she used the opportunity to update her knowledge of poisons. Her 1961 book 'The Pale Horse' includes references to thallium poisoning, a method of killing based on a suggestion from the hospital's chief pharmacist at the time.
Christie's works have been adapted numerous times for cinema and television. The earliest movie based on an Agatha Christie story is 'The Passing of Mister Quinn,' made in 1928. Poirot's first film appearance was in 1931 in 'Alibi.' Most critics agree that English actor David Suchet's portrayal of the Belgian detective in 'Agatha Christie's Poirot' (1989–2013) is the definitive characterization of the brilliant but egocentric sleuth. Pictured: Suchet as Poirot.
English actress Margaret Rutherford's portrayal of Miss Marple in a series of films in the 1960s was met with approval from Dame Agatha Christie.
Dame Agatha also applauded Sidney Lumet's 'Murder on the Orient Express,' which featured a host of big-name screen stars. The London premiere of the movie was one of her last public appearances.
Kenneth Branagh directed and starred as Poirot in the 2017 remake of 'Murder on the Orient Express.' The English actor reprised his role in 'Death on the Nile' (2022), again choosing to direct.
Agatha Christie published six novels under her pen name Mary Westmacott. The first, 'Giant's Bread' was released in 1930. Mary Westmacott's final book was 'The Burden' (1956).
Publisher Harper Collins announced in 2023 that they were making edits to remove racially insensitive language from future prints of Christie's books. Beloved characters like Hercule Poirot often travel abroad and Christie used language to describe people of color that no longer sits comfortably with the modern reader. The work of classic authors like Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming has received similar treatment from professionals called "sensitivity readers" in recent years.
Sources: (The Guardian) (Guinness World Records) (Reedsy) (Broadway.com)
See also: The screen's most memorable detectives
The endearing appeal of Agatha Christie
Publisher Harper Collins is removing racially insensitive language from new editions of Christie's classics
LIFESTYLE Authors
Agatha Christie is the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her detective novels and short stories having sold an astonishing two billion copies-plus worldwide since her first book, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles'—which introduced the world to the fictional detective Hercule Poirot—was published in 1920. Dubbed the "Queen of Crime," Christie also wrote for the theater, with 'The Mousetrap' still distinguished with the longest run of any play in the world. Born in 1890, Christie's extraordinary allure has stood the test of time. So, what is the endearing appeal of Agatha Christie?
Click, read, and turn the pages for an appreciation of the life and work of the world's greatest crime writer.